


Favorite Lunch

by onlysehun



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Lemon, Posted Elsewhere, Reader-Insert, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Smut, kinda inspired by Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:49:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24441616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlysehun/pseuds/onlysehun
Summary: “Shit,” you think to yourself – not because he is one hell of an attractive man in his beige oversized cardigan, white V-neck shirt, and skinny jeans. It is also not because he looks so good in an undercut with a center-parted hair, his fringe on both of his temples and his hair is black (jet black, as the other voice in your head will say) that complements his pale skin too much, too good; shit because you cannot eat with a stranger around and you are supposed to eat whatever you bought from the convenience store inside the park for lunch.“Rude,” he then says when he sees you're done cleaning the area.“I am sorry,” you apologize ever so formally with a bow.You then decide to eat with him, and if you can't, you will pack the touched food and head back to your flat to eat instead. Surprisingly, you did not feel a tug on your throat while you're eating, with you feeling that he has his eyes on you for longer than you have earlier. More surprisingly, he comes to sit with you again, with a plastic bag in his hand this time, the next day.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer
Comments: 31
Kudos: 63





	1. Convenience Store Inside the Park

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! This is my first ever fic. *slams her head on the table* I am not knowledgeable about the tags in here, especially about the OC/Reader tag. I am not giving my character a name, but she has specific descriptions about her physical appearance. Please correct me if something is wrong~ Also, please post a comment if you have opinions, criticisms, or whatever you are feeling about the fic. This will help me become a better, if not less bad, writer. Thank you very much!!

You are not one to enjoy eating with other people that much besides your family. You have friends, very good ones, but you still find it uncomfortable to stuff your face when you are with them.

Part of the reason is that your friends have always been eating out - you can only do that once a week or not at all in a week considering your allowance. You have always told them about that, and whenever you do, they will say that they will treat you to a meal instead, but you find it too embarrassing and feel like a parasite.

The other is because you cannot take part in conversations during meals no matter how much one may try to engage you into it. You do not want to break the good atmosphere during their meals, so you have been eating at your flat by yourself ever since you start college.

Lastly, you almost always feel like your food is stuck in your throat whenever you eat with others and you never know why. However, being the nicest persons you know, they still invite you to join them whenever your break times match, and 11:30 AM on Tuesdays is one of those times.

Someone calls your name from the corridor when you exit your room. You turn to look at where the voice comes from and you see Sasha with your other friends who are Mikasa and Historia. When the group comes close to you, Sasha puts her hand on the top of your head like she always does because she is clingier than a koala to a tree, and you are a lot shorter than her - you are shorter than all the people you have met, if not everyone around your age, at 4'10.

"Wanna eat with us at Jerry's?" Historia asks. You almost contemplate when you hear the name of the joint as it is one of the places around your university that offers quality food at affordable prices. You jut your lower lip after a few seconds. "Sorry, I just bought groceries yesterday and had all my meals planned out," you apologize with a crinkle of your eyes. You have always shown them this side of you - cutesy, pouty, whatever face fits what you're feeling the best. To other people, however, you are always silent and your face is void of emotion. 

Mikasa huffs when she hears your reply and fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder. You chuckle at this. You are so used to her being chic and you always know when she's joking and when she's not. Sasha, on the other hand, pats your head very quickly numerous times while copying your facial expression, and you glare at her. "Aww, okay, but don't forget our barbecue party next Friday, alright?" Historia coos and reminds you of what you have promised each other last Saturday online. It's not a literal party, though, you will just eat out at a barbecue place.

"Of course, my wife," you wink at her and it's her time to chuckle.

That will only be the second time this semester that you will eat with them (all four of you are freshmen), and the first one is what Sasha has called a _trial._ She and Historia have successfully pulled you into it, especially when Historia has started to tear up because she thinks that you do not like them enough at that time. You do, though, you like them so much, so you have tried eating _and_ drinking with them for your first time. It has worked out better than you thought, and it may have been because of the complimentary alcohol that has gotten all the four of you drunk and you, overly carefree, that the four of you have spent the night at Mikasa's because she is the least drunk. 

You bid each other goodbyes and see yous at the next class because your next subject is an elective one, and you have specifically chosen that section together for you to be classmates. You start to go your opposite ways and you walk the usual path to your flat. You sigh and look at the sky for a bit to see that the clouds are a shade of grey. "I hope it rains," you say to yourself. You are very uncomfortable right now as it is that time before the rain pours when your body feels so sticky. If you remember your high school science lessons right, it must be transpiration. 

Seven minutes later, when you are halfway to your place, you feel something wet drop on your face and it's none other than the rain. Before you have decided to run to your place, it starts to pour heavily. You immediately look for shelter and your eyes first land on the convenience store to your left, not too far off from the street with a bunch of trees surrounding it. You do not notice the welcome arc on the way to it as you run to the place quickly and push the door with damp hair and slightly wet clothes. You start to try wiping or swatting the water from your hair, clothes, and body away. 

"Welcome to the Park of Words!" The man whom you see come out from what seems to be a kitchen through your peripheral vision suddenly exclaims that makes you jolt in surprise. You then turn your gaze to him and blink, trying to take in what he has said.

You blink a few more times and bow to him. You make your way to the seats on your right, but you do not know when it is last cleaned. You move there just to not be in the way of the door and decide what you will do. You have come to the conclusion that it has been stupid of you to wish for rain without adding a _when I reach home_. You have made a mental note to be careful what you wish for, to start to always bring an umbrella and to visit the park that you have barely noticed when you have been passing the street where it's located for three months now. 

Few minutes have passed since you have found umbrellas in the store, and you are still contemplating if you should buy one or not when you have it at home. The rain does not seem to stop very soon. If you decide to buy your lunch there, you will still buy an umbrella to not walk into your classroom all wet and cold. If you decide to buy an umbrella and walk home, you can change your clothes or even take a short bath to avoid getting sick, and then cook an easy meal and eat.

You choose the latter as it saves more money and make your way home. "Good thing my vacant is two hours," you think to yourself.

It is Tuesday of the following week and the road is still wet from the rain that Monday has brought. The pouring has not stopped until it is dawn. Your morning classes of that day are canceled because coincidentally, all your professors for those periods can’t suddenly come to school in time due to the heavy rain. If it’s true, they may be living quite far from the university that _all_ of them can’t teach today. If it’s not, it is probably the blues that the rain has brought before the sun shines.

It is your lunchtime again and you decide to try whatever that no-name convenience store has to offer, so you buy whatever fits your mood.

You are now walking to the park after doublechecking that you have an umbrella. You also bring with you a bunch of towels that are packed in separate transparent pouches. Two towels are damp and have a tiny a bit of soap and lots of disinfectant in them and the other two are just damp while the fifth is dry. You have always brought towels of those variations ever since high school and have always wiped your seat with those before and after you use it. Of course, you cannot forget a glove, you do not want your hands to get all dry and unattractive from soap and disinfectant. These cleaning materials are all put inside another pouch which is bigger than the ones for the towels, so you can fit everything in. College is not an exception, surely, with more people using the seat you choose for that day.

Aside from being a solo-eater, you are also a bit of a clean freak.

You are beaming when you reach the park.

There is a wide space with an enormous fountain at the center. Around it is what seems to be a big square with huge-sized tiles and sprinklers or are they little fountains? You asked mentally. The little fountains on each corner of the tiles spurt out water from time to time, and you already expect that there are lots of families who spend their time here on the weekends of summer. There are a lot of resting areas surrounding it. The rest of the ground is covered with enough length of the grass. And what you like the most about the place is the moderate number of trees that seem like the walls on opposite sides of the park. On the opposite side of where you walk into, there are tall buildings and a big playground that confirms your guess that those are residential areas. There are no people present, probably because of the rain that has poured earlier and because it's a weekday.

You choose the third roofed resting area that you pass by when you start walking through the place. You entered the area through the space between where the almost completely circle seat begins and ends. Before you put your bag, you bring out one of your soaped towels and wear a glove. You then start to wipe the round table first that is surrounded by the seat.

You hear someone’s footsteps nearing your chosen area at the park when you are halfway done with wiping the seat dry after wiping the table. You expect that the person would go to the shade adjacent to the one you have chosen. To your surprise, the person, or he, rather, sits at the already wiped part of the seat circling the table and crosses his leg. You have your eyes on him seconds ago when you have noticed where he has sat, and you have not peeled it off of him.

“Shit,” you think to yourself – not because he is one hell of an attractive man in his beige oversized cardigan, white V-neck shirt, and skinny jeans. It is also not because he looks so good in an undercut with a center-parted hair, his fringe on both of his temples and his hair is black (jet black, as the other voice in your will say) that complements his pale skin too much, too good; shit because you cannot eat with a stranger around and you are supposed to eat whatever you bought from the convenience store inside the park for lunch.

Being almost done with cleaning your chosen spot at the park, you ponder on trying to eat with him. If you really can’t, you will put the touched food back in its container and head to your flat to eat. After coming to that conclusion, you finally continue on wiping the remaining of the seat and halted looking or rather, _ogling_ at him. You hope he does not mind it as you believed you only looked at him for approximately nine seconds with blank eyes as you were good at keeping your emotions to yourself.

“Rude,” he then says when you have already kept your towels and glove inside your bag and start to bring out your food to the table. Apparently, nine seconds of looking at him have already made him uncomfortable. You mentally slap yourself with a voice inside your head that says that duration is probably enough for him to think that you are, indeed, rude. Because you have made him feel like that, you start to hesitate eating with him around, but you don’t budge.

“I am sorry,” you apologize ever so formally with a bow.

You are focused on opening the top of the packaging of your lunch and focused on using that as a reason to not look at him anymore. When you finally peel it off, you take a seat not opposite of him but opposite of the space where people enter the area. He is sitting on your right, the distance between you enough to say that he’s far. You proceed with your plan to eat with a stranger around. You have not bothered excusing yourself because you have gone here to eat and have gotten here before him.

What’s strange is that you have been feeling his eyes on you ever since you have turned back to cleaning earlier, but you’re just too embarrassed to look and check. What’s stranger is that you have finished your lunch without feeling a tug on your throat, _and_ you have finished it with your cheeks hot from embarrassment and the feeling of being looked at. The least strange of all, however, or what’s not strange at all, you think, is when he gets up and leaves the resting area when you start to put your trash in the paper bag where it’s previously kept.

You look at his back and unconsciously hope to see him again.


	2. Your Flat's Kitchen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have made a dumb mistake!!!!! I thought dusk is when the day's going to start when it's actually dawn ack--- I have edited the word dusk in the first chapter to dawn now, I'm sorry!!

You are back to your flat after you have attended your two classes for the day. Originally, you have five classes on Tuesdays, but your professors for the morning period have all been affected by the downpour that has lasted until dawn. When you remove your feet from your sneakers to leave it by the shoe rack beside the door, you start to think back about what has happened at the Park of Words, or so it’s called.

When the man from the park has left you when you are already packing up earlier, you have then wiped the resting area with a frown. _Why was I frowning?_ You question yourself. That is only your first time seeing that person, but you are already trying to control your breathing without you knowing while you put your bag down on the desk beside your bed.

You are suddenly tempted to lie on it, but you shake your head with your eyebrows knitted together. You never get close to your favorite place in your flat when you still have your outside clothes on – not that you have anywhere else to be your favorite when you only have that little kitchen with your washer underneath on the left side of your door and a small round bamboo table with its complimentary chair opposite it and your bathroom on the right, just a few steps from the shoe rack. Your bed that can only fit one person and a half, unless some two individuals will embrace each other bumper to bumper, is positioned meters away from the entrance, its headboard on the wall. Onto the left side of the bed is a moderately-sized rectangular glass window that overlooks the street from below and that’s also supposed to let out any smell from your kitchen whenever you cook. Your desk lies adjacent to your closet on the right.

You know you should clean yourself up first and you will do so after putting sanitizer on your hands that’s on the small steel basket hanging by the door of your closet. You then get your towel from one of the cloth hangers and head to the bathroom. What better place to think than in the shower, right?

“Here we go,” you say to yourself when the water begins to hit your chest.

Yes, you have eaten your lunch with a stranger without your throat making a fuss. He also hasn’t initiated a little chat which you think is good. One is supposed to feel awkward and all when eating something while in the presence of someone who does not have food, but you haven’t felt anything like that. You haven’t tried offering him some of yours either, and that’s meant to make you sink in your seat from shame.

Instead, your face has gotten all warm because he thinks you’re rude for looking at him and a lot warmer when you feel that he has his eyes on you too long. You pat your shoulder while applying some scrub on it for what you believe is progress. Perhaps you can try eating snacks with Sasha tomorrow when you meet at 11:00 AM for your first class.

You wrap your body with a towel when you are done taking a shower. You then pull your old clothes away from the hook with a grimace and your pinky finger up. You immediately walk to your washer and open it with your left hand while putting your clothes in it. It is with your clothes from Monday and you can’t wash it right now because you think it’s a waste of detergent, water, and electricity if you do your laundry with only a few clothes in it. You then think that you should wash them with your Wednesday clothing tomorrow night.

After putting on a white shirt that says "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK," in bold sans serif and wearing only your underwear. You get a pad and a pen from your bag with your phone on your right hand and walk to your bamboo table by the kitchen. You plan to write a rough draft of the paper that you are asked to submit weeks from now for one of your subjects. You know you think better while writing by the window and with the sound of pen on paper.

You are more than grateful for the fact that you can do anything during class besides using your phone if not for academic reasons, drinking, or making out.

When you see Sasha waiting beside the door of the classroom earlier, you immediately tell her about the little encounter that you have experienced at the park between the distance of your university and your accommodation. Of course, this hasn't happened without her shaking your shoulders very intensely. You thank your weird clean freak side for being able to tolerate, or even like, skinship as long as you don't touch your face for the rest of the time that you're out. You are now in the room and have taken a seat after cleaning the chair that you choose with Sasha. Your phone vibrates for notification of a post that says your professor will be late.

Currently, you are experimenting with Sasha to tell if you really can already eat with others or not. You first try to eat one of the choco mallows that you have brought without giving her any piece of it. You take a small bite of it with her anticipating gaze on you. Not long after, your face is in a frown and you have a hard time swallowing what you have put in your mouth. You are going to throw up if not for Sasha having a quick reaction and giving you your water bottle for you to drink. After drinking a bit of the liquid, you then give her one pack of choco mallows and she has opened it as quick as light. 

"Ready?" Sasha asks you with a slightly worried tone that is overpowered by her excitement. You nod to her and take a bite of the snack. As immediately as you have recovered from the first test earlier, you feel a familiar discomfort in your throat again. You shake your head to her with a pout and push the food down your throat again with water.

“I should have filled my tumbler with wine instead of water,” you jokingly tell her with a sigh remembering your first time eating with them. She laughs at this while slapping your arm. Your professor arrives just in time for Sasha to stop abusing your arm for a lame joke.

You are in the same spot as yesterday in the park again to eat your lunch. This time you have brought a bento that you have prepared at your flat before the class that you have with Sasha. You only have two classes today and that’s why Wednesdays are your favorite time of the week. It’s past 1:00 PM now and your last class starts at 2. The time you need to make it to your flat and then back to uni is thirty minutes, so you have always spent the hour before your first class at the library and have always eaten before your first class. Now that you have found a different place and an open space that’s close to uni, you have decided to have your noon meals of the following days there.

You already have your chopsticks in your hand and are on the verge of picking one slice of rolled omelet from your bento when the stranger from yesterday takes a seat on the left side of the resting area. You haven’t noticed the steps that are taken towards your place as you are very excited to eat what you have packed.

You look up at him in curiosity as he puts a black plastic bag on the table and starts to bring out what you believe is his lunch. He has his backpack on the wide space between the two of you as the place opposite the entrance to the area is where you have sat. He is wearing a striped white shirt that is tucked in his grey slacks. You compliment his fashion sense in your head.

“What?” He asks you in a slightly irritated tone while opening the convenience store bento without returning your gaze.

“Sorry,” is your reply again and you look back down your food. You start eating the rolled omelet that you are supposed to earlier and if not for this man around, you will have hummed at the taste.

You see that he has also begun eating through your peripheral vision. You ask yourself if his hands are clean. You then bring some grilled fish to your mouth and after it has reached your taste buds, you can’t help but smile. _I’m such a good cook._ You mentally pat your shoulder for being so. Without your knowledge, he looks at you just in time to see your small smile. He tries to suppress the one that’s tugging on his lips.

He has finished eating before you and is done with packing up his trash. He’s now leaning on his arms with his palms on the seat for support. He has been staring at you for a while now while his hair is being blown to the side by the wind. You are not aware of this again for you are so focused on eating and mentally patting your shoulder many times – which may be enough times to call you a narcissist.

You end your meal with your palms together to give thanks. After putting your packed lunch inside your bag again, you bring out your towels and your glove to start cleaning the place. You are kind of worried about how you will clean with him still present. You then decide to just clean the spot you are in first.

“I’ll do it,” he tells you in monotone when you are about to wear the glove.

“Why?” You ask after you turn your gaze at him.

“Why not?” He replies with an eyebrow that’s raised at you.

You do not respond to this and hand the glove as you walk up to him instead. He then gets the packed towel in your hand with a bit of force and gives the pouch to you when he has gotten the towel out of it. He stands and starts wiping the resting area as soon as he has worn the glove. You raise an eyebrow at his roughness when he has his back on you.

You do not know what to do aside from looking at his hand that’s doing the work and moving away from him once he gets close to where you stand. You have your eyes on the plastic bag that has his after-meal trash. You make your way to it and pick it up from the table. You already have your feet on the ground outside the area when he turns to you. “What are you doing?” He asks. “Bin.” You answer curtly as you head to the trash bin closest to your spot with your bag hung on your shoulder.

When you are done throwing his trash you head back to the resting area and sees that he’s finished with wiping the spot clean. You proceed to bring out the pouch where the towel’s previously kept. He sees you doing this, so he hands out the fabric back to you and you put it back inside your bag when you have zipped it in already. You then get the dry towel out from another pouch and gives it to him.

“Turning me into your slave now?” He asks you with a smirk while looking down at you.

“No. I did all the cleaning earlier before I ate, so I think you should be the one to do it now.” You reply assertively and stop yourself from rolling your eyes at him. You are not letting him take advantage of your hardwork again like yesterday.

“Tsk,” is his only response as he gets the fabric from you with force _again_.

 _Does this guy even know gentle?_ You ask in your head. His roughness is not the only thing that’s bothering you, though - you have never seen yourself this assertive around people you don’t know. You normally just go on with doing whatever you want without explanation despite other people asking you to explain yourself.

After deciding to go out of the resting area instead of moving around to avoid him when he’s nearing the place where you stand, you conclude that he’s probably just too rough _and_ rude that it annoys you enough for you to push yourself to reply.

You are keeping the towel and glove in your bag when you see his shoes next to yours on the ground. When you have secured it in your bag, you look up at him in question. He only scoffs at this and starts to walk.

It has already been a few minutes and you still see his back in front of you. He’s probably studying at your uni, too, and this assumption is confirmed when you finally reach the entrance. You are currently heading right to your building which is finally opposite his way. He notices that he’s not hearing footsteps close to him anymore and realizes that you are walking away from him when he turns to look to his right.

“Oi,” he tries to catch your attention. This stops you in your track when you hear his voice, but you do not face him.

“What time’s your lunch tomorrow?” He asks with a glint of anticipation that you’re unaware of.

You take a few seconds to reply as you try to go through your schedule in your head. It’s Thursday tomorrow, so it’s the same as your schedule on Tuesday. “11:30,” you briefly answer and then proceed to your building for the next class.

 _He probably does not have any friends._ You say to yourself and decide to be gentler towards him and offer to be his friend when you eat with him again tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe!!!!


	3. His Flat's Kitchen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just knew today that Historia is a 4'8!!!!! I'll just consider her a five-footer in this story, hehe. I also added more imagery in my writing because I notice the lack of it. I don't mingle well with creative writing as I always forget to include literary devices. I hope your feedback can guide me throughout my writing journey! ^^ And this is a very short chapter, but I'll make it up to you in the next one if I can. >//<

“Are you sure he goes to our school?” Mikasa asks you skeptically.

The four of you have agreed to meet at Historia’s place for some Wednesday afternoon tea. Today is chamomile day when it has always been earl grey. You are not sure if this is really what Historia has planned to make or if she has done so in order to coax you into telling everything about your encounters with your lunch buddy – chamomile is your favorite, after all. You have told them even the littlest of details without reservations, though. Happening now is the Q&A stage of storytime or is it an interrogation?

“I’m sure, okay. He walked ahead of me.” You answer, nonchalance evident in your tone. You are sitting beside Historia on the rectangular maple table and across of you are Mikasa and Sasha.

“Is he big?” It’s Historia’s turn to ask with wide and worried eyes. Now, that makes you think. “Sasha’s taller than him, I believe?” _Absolutely cute._ Wait, what? And what does size or _height_ have to do with this?

Sasha almost rolls on the floor at your reply which distracts you from your line of thought. Mikasa, at the same time, slams the table and her other hand is on her mouth to try minimizing the sound of her laugh. And Historia, well, “HEEEH? That means Mikasa’s taller, too!” as she exclaims. _What happened to being worried about me?_ You sigh. It still surprises you how your friends can laugh at the lamest of things sometimes, you’re no different, though.

“But that d-doesn’t mean h-he’s not dangerous,” Mikasa states while still suppressing her laugh.

“Come on, what’s eating with him in broad daylight gonna do?” You pout and just consider your friends’ state as a happy memory. “Besides, I’m sure there are CCTVs around the area,” you add and take a sip from your tea and your eyebrows meet in satisfaction.

“Fine, but contact one of us if you sense anything weird tomorrow,” Mikasa, who has calmed down, reminds you. You nod at this while still relishing on the chamomile and thank whoever’s up there that she hasn’t offered to come with you – she has always been the most protective.

After describing every physical aspect of him that you remember to satiate the curiosity of your friends or _for safety reasons_ , as Mikasa has explained, you all leave Historia’s and head to your own homes.

You take a shower as soon as you reach your flat and do the laundry afterward. You hum at the soft and clean smell of newly washed fabric while letting it dry completely on a rack near the window. You then accomplish whatever you need to for your classes tomorrow and get to dreamworld with a smile.

You are greeted with the familiar smell of trees and the sound of splashing water from the distance. The feel of the grasses on the ground that shy away for every step you take is consoling. The spring breeze blows your locks away from your face and you savor the scent of the last Thursday of May. You can never be more contented than this.

You have arrived at the park minutes late as your friends haven’t let you leave without a fuss when you see each other at the building corridors earlier. Historia has even advised you to scream for help as if that’s not a living being’s nature. The corner of your lips curls up at the memory. Not long after, you see that your lunch buddy is already in the area.

“You’re later than the first time,” he tells you while sitting on his spot that’s similar to yesterday with his arms crossed. You glance at him and just show him an eyebrow. _Entitled_.

“You cleaned it?” You ask when your gaze lands on the concrete table and notices that his lunch is already set on it. It seems that he has cooked for himself today. He nods, not taking his eyes off of your features. “With what?” You question him, dubious. “Wet wipes,” he then replies matter-of-factly with a shrug.

“That’s too much waste!” You exclaim while setting your bag down and taking a seat on the usual spot. All of your plans to be gentle towards him are long forgotten. You glare at him. You actually expect him to be defensive about this, but surprise: “Sorry,” he tells you, and is that candor you see in his eyes? His eyes are gunmetal, you observe out of the blue. You just huff in reply.

You bring out your lunch box to the table. He suddenly slides it to him and pushes his lunch box to your front.

Before you snap to question him, “I want to eat yours,” he reasons blankly while looking down your bento and peels the cap off the box.

He silently gasps – your food is adorable. It has rabbit-shaped rice and it’s outlined by dried seaweed. It also has short wiener sausages made to look like baby octopuses. The mixed vegetables are as colorful as they can be and there’s grilled mackerel on the side again. Part of him wants to frame it in his home and another wants to taste everything that you have made from your little hands.

Your eyes widen at this and your hands on the table turn into fists.

“You know what, you can say no,” he says dejectedly before you can say knife when he catches your reaction. You do not say anything in response and just opens up his bento to start eating. _That’s not what I mean._

The smell is immaculate. You almost think he’s a psychic for having garlic butter shrimp in his lunch as it’s one of your favorites. What more about the tonkatsu with sauce in just the perfect color. You slightly feel embarrassed at the simplicity of your lunch, but you shrug it off as you’re going to stuff your face with something better today. You do not have time to worry if it’s poisoned or not and he peeks at you when you take one shrimp to your mouth. You instantly hum and this earns a smile from him. You’re oblivious of how you affect him again and he begins to eat, his gloominess disappearing into thin air.

The two of you sigh happily after finishing your lunch. He immediately turns to glance at you and you do the same. In sync, that’s what you both are at the time. You grin at him and he quickly drifts his eyes away from your gaze. Not a second later, he carries on with the eye contact again.

“Do you want to be my friend?” You ask him in the spur of the moment. He only lifts his eyebrows in surprise at your offer. Your thumb and index finger play with your other thumb in anxiety as he doesn’t seem to have any desire to reply. “It’s just that you’ve been eating lunch with me for three days straight now and you even asked what time’s my break today. I was wondering if you don’t have anyone to be with, so I offered to be your friend,” you justify your unforeseen attempt to establish a relationship with him. Your eyes downcast.

“Okay,” he replies in composure. “But just so you know, I do have friends – lots,” he includes haughtily and his shoulders high. Is this his attempt to impress you?

“Oh, aren’t you proud, …?” you delay your reply to ask for his name.

“Levi,” he answers with slim dispiritedness you don’t catch. You tell him your name in response and bring your hand forward for a shake. “I’m certain we’re not closing a deal, are we?” He retorts at your formality and draws his lunch box towards him to keep it. “Tch,” you almost pout. You then do the same to your bento and proceed to clean the area afterward.

You are walking the same direction to your campus. When he goes slightly ahead of you, he will look at his back to check if you’re still behind him and waits for you to reach him. This goes on for a while as you’re a slow walker because of your shorter legs. He doesn’t seem to mind. If anything, his light steps may even suggest that he’s liking this.

“Where’s your next class?” He turns to you and asks. “Arts Building. Yours?” You return him the question. “Physical Science,” he replies. You nod in understanding. You realize the probable difference in your major.

“I’m not eating lunch there tomorrow,” you inform him just in case.

“Why?” He questions as he steps closer to you in alarm.

“Gotta work with my groupmates on break time,” you reason in morose with a scrunch of your nose. He suddenly turns silent and you take it as your cue to leave. “I’ll be going now. Thank you for today?” You hopefully tell him. _He smells like lemon_. 

“Thank you for today,” he fulfills your hope after blinking a few times as if in a trance.

You go your separate ways and you don’t register his hesitant steps.

He doesn’t know if it’s appropriate to ask for your number yet and he realizes you smell like baby powder. 


	4. Your Drunken States

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the fourth chapter!~ I've included Karasuno's Meat Song from Haikyuu, hehehehehe, and I got the romanization from Rose Chan's comment on animelab's YouTube video about it. 
> 
> Also, I recommend listening to Sundial's Your Text when Levi and Reader's interaction comes! <3
> 
> Hope you appreciate it! AND! #BlackLivesMatter! I'm currently looking for donation drives, so I can link it in the next chapters. If you know where to donate, please write a comment about it. Thank you!

You are lying on your side when you feel the vibration of your phone under your pillow.

You are supposed to eat before your first class, but your groupmates in the next subject have decided to distribute more work for each member because one of you cannot be present. This ends up in you skipping lunch and you have planned to practice your lines together on your break time.

When you make it home, you immediately change your clothes and have your well-deserved afternoon nap for all the energy that speaking in front of a crowd has expended.

 _Only a devil would dare call me in the middle of my nap._ You bring your phone to your ear without checking who the devil is and thank whoever has invented sensors and quick gestures for smartphones. All hail the lazy.

You mutter a gruff hello to the microphone.

“Hey, woman-who-eats-with-a-stranger, where are you?” You glower at the new endearment Sasha has made for you.

“Home. And he’s not a stranger anymore,” you counter drowsily. She has skipped her class with you earlier because of some laboratory reports she needs to finalize.

“Sneaky you~ Tell us all about that over barbecue. You know the place, right? We meet there at seven,” she reminds you with some teasing as you sprawl on the bed. You squint while you try to check the time when you bring the device to your face. It’s already quarter past six and you have only eaten breakfast.

“I know, I know. I’ll just take a quick shower and eat something,” you reply. You’re going to make alcohol run through your system as soon as you get there and you know you cannot drink with an empty stomach.

You force your body to get up and walk to your bathroom - you can probably play a zombie during the Halloween with how sluggish your movements are. When you reach the bathroom, you choose the lemon variant over your vanilla shower gel. You decide to pay attention to the lemon one because it’s still almost full – you rarely use it. Besides, you suddenly feel like lemon this afternoon. Your bathe ends not sooner than fifteen minutes.

You’re eating cup ramen with an egg you have mixed with it earlier. You are standing by the kitchen countertop with only a towel to cover your body. The instant food’s steam reaches your cheeks and you sigh at the warmth. After eating until there’s no noodle left, you drink its soup to the brim. You then wash both the chopsticks and the cup and put it on the rack to let it dry. You brush your teeth subsequently.

“Comfy, comfy, comfy~” You improvise a tune while going through your closet after drying your hair.

You expect you and your friends are going to get all hot and rowdy from alcohol, so you only wear a fitted black crop top shirt and a pair of high-waisted, slim fit jeans. Plus, May’s ending in two days, so summer is just around the corner. You don’t bother bringing anything to keep you warm. You then pick a tote bag to keep your belongings. And by belongings, you also mean your towels and glove.

After concluding your outfit, you spray some moisturizing mist to your face and put a bit of tint on your lips. You shower yourself with baby cologne afterward, hoping it stays long enough to fight off the smell of barbecue and beer. You also slightly wish baby cologne and lemon mix well together.

When you arrive at the barbecue place, you start to look for your friends who have been sending you messages all asking you to do the same thing: _Hurry._ You don’t understand the rush, it’s only a few minutes past seven. That’s not late, you think. You recognize that majority of the people there look your age.

“Here!” You hear Sasha’s voice call your name and you sprint towards them when you have pinpointed where they are.

You take out your towels and glove and wipe your chair as soon as you arrive. The table’s not excused, too. Your friends aren’t weirded out by this anymore and even borrow the towels from your hand to disinfect their spot.

“Is this our campus’ get-together?” You joke while taking a seat between Mikasa and Sasha. Your table’s a round mahogany one with ladderback chairs of the same wood. At the center of it are a portable gas stove and a large grill pan. The side dishes are already served and four little bowls of mozzarella cubes cannot be forgotten.

Historia giggles, “You think so, too, right? Turns out this is a famous place among our university,” she explains quite excitedly. You just mouth an _ohh_ at her reply.

“Beer, first?” Mikasa offers you a pint once the beer has been brought to your table. “You know me,” you wink at her then take the drink. You inhale through your teeth as the liquid starts to draw a line down your throat.

While you are downing the alcohol bit by bit, short ribs and pork belly are served. You’ve been hearing a lot of sizzles from other tables and the smell of different sides and cooking meat gets stronger for your nose by the second. Sasha gets to grilling while Historia puts cheese on the side and mushrooms and corns between the cuts of meat.

You can almost listen in on the conversations of the people close to your table and the place is spacious. You can’t believe the loudness is starting this early and it overpowers the pop song playing in the background. You start to feel the effect of alcohol as your pint only has one gulp left.

As Sasha brings out the cooked meat and sides to a big plate, you can’t let other tables’ noise beat yours. Mikasa starts to pat the table consistently with a beat.

“Oniku, niku, niku, oniku, niku!” Historia kicks off the song with her elbows bent and making circles. _(Meaty meat, meat, meaty meat!)_

“Awasete niku niku?” Sasha goes next while doing the same step and Historia sings with her for a round. _(Put them together?)_

“Oniku, niku!” You and Mikasa complete the round. You don’t notice how a group of people stop on the way to their table just a few ones across yours while hearing you and your friends go crazy. _(Meaty meat, meat!)_

“Oniku banzai! Genki hyakubai!” The four of you exclaim while you slam the table with each syllable. You begin to catch the attention of the people around you and a lot of them turn their heads to your where you are. _(Hooray for meat! Energy times a hundred!)_

“Whoohoo! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” All of you get up and start throwing your arms over your head then downwards and this continues.

“Oniku kami-sama! Oniku kami-sama!” You finish the song indifferently and sit back down to your table as if nothing happened. After a few seconds, every one of you bursts out laughing. You even receive boisterous cheers from the crowd. _What a way to start the night_. _(Meat is god! Meat is god!)_

You can’t stop laughing as you lean on Mikasa’s shoulder to try and suppress it. But her shoulder is still shaking from the hilarity of what you have done, so you just laugh louder. Sasha and Historia haven’t stopped with the high fives until a minute later when you have already composed yourselves.

You finish your beer with a gulp while your friends start attacking the meat. Not long after, another pint is served to your spot and you down it immediately. _Half of this, then I can eat_. You calculate in your head as you drink the alcohol in one shot until it reaches half of the glass.

Your friends have kept putting meat and sides to your plate earlier and the next round is already being grilled. You start bringing a piece to your mouth and you dance with hands in a fist in front of you as soon as the meat reaches your sense. Your friends have also begun to drink and Historia rants about the difficulty of her logic class.

“I believe you have something to tell us,” Sasha turns to you when they’re done dissing each of their most hated professors. You just hum as you continue to dig in the short ribs.

“What is it about?” Mikasa asks while she flips a few pieces of pork belly over.

“She told me the stranger is not a stranger anymore!” Sasha replies for you when she sees your lack of desire to react.

You take a big gulp of your beer before including yourself in the conversation. “I asked for his name the last time we met and he seems to be from the Physical Sciences,” you claim while bobbing your head lightly. You know there aren’t any elective classes that are held in that building.

The second round of meat is done and Mikasa puts some pieces to all your plates.

“Really?! Then we’re from the same college if that’s the case,” Sasha concludes as she majors in chemistry.

“You sure you don’t see him around your building?” Historia clarifies as she picks a mushroom to eat. Most, if not all, elective classes are taken at the Arts Building and all of your classes except physical education are at the same building. Therefore, “Yup. He’s probably graduating or something,” you realize.

“And? You didn’t ask what year he’s really in? What’s his name?” Mikasa scolds you while taking a gulp of her pint.

“Hehe, no, and his name’s Levi and he smells like lemons!” You reply quite loudly and giddily with your index finger pointing at Mikasa as you do the same to your drink. A few people, two tables away from yours, turn their heads to your place when they have heard what you’ve said. One of them looks at you occasionally ever since he has taken a seat earlier that’s facing your spot from ahead.

“Levi!” Sasha says the name of your lunch buddy suddenly and very blatantly while imitating how you point at Mikasa earlier.

“Levi!” You don’t have time to react when Historia follows suit.

“Levi!” They call his name in chorus as if they’re calling a god. You pinch the bridge of your nose like you’re tired of them jokingly. Mikasa, on the other hand, clicks her tongue. You’re all getting tipsy too early.

“Do you know them?” A guy with blond hair that’s parted sideways very neatly looks at Levi with minor curiosity in his blue eyes.

“Yeah, one of them,” the raven-haired man replies casually while he swigs his glass of beer.

“I know them all,” the brunette blankly adds, his green eyes fall to the grilling pan in possible melancholy.

“You’re kidding me, brat,” Levi scoffs while he puts his chin on his left palm as he brings his gaze to the girl few tables across him.

“How do you know them, Eren?” The blond asks while he takes two pieces of meat to inhale.

“It’s true! That’s my ex and her friends. We went to the same high school, Erwin,” The fellow who’s named Eren explains in defense.

Levi abruptly faces Eren, “Who’s your ex?” He questions, seeming _very_ perplexed.

“The one in black,” Eren sighs as he dips his short rib in cheese, remembering what her ex-girlfriend is wearing when he has glanced at her earlier before heading to their table.

Levi puts his glass back down the table with a slam.

“What are you so worked up about?” Erwin asks Levi, his eyebrows lift in surprise.

You are the only one wearing black.

“Ey, Mikasa~ You’re stripping already?” Sasha whistles as Mikasa takes off her hoodie before your first drinking game starts. She has been wearing a sleeveless grey top underneath.

“Me too! Me too!” Historia chuckles as she starts to pull her button-down shirt upwards. Mikasa then pinches her arm to stop her. “Killjoy,” Historia pouts and crosses her arms.

“No, no, no! Strip at home, girls, not here,” you shake your head at them as you try to whisper your words.

Three hours of banter, four rounds of meat, and lots of alcohol later, your cheek is already on the table while you frown, trying to keep yourself awake. Your grilling pan and portable gas stove are already taken when you’re done with the meat. Plate and utensils are taken subsequently. Beer glasses are all that’s left on your table. Only a few groups of people are left as the place is nearing its closing time.

“No shleeping!” Sasha slaps your back intensely. You jolt and try to sit very straight.

“Not sleeping!” You make a cross with your index fingers while moving your head side to side.

“Batsu game next!” Historia squeals as she claps her hand.

“Batsu game last!” Mikasa plays along with her friends’ drunken state. She wants to go home.

“Last game, last game~” You chant as you stretch your arms over your head as if preparing for battle. Sasha cracks her knuckles and Historia blows air into her hands.

“Rock, paper, scissors!” You start the game immediately.

After two rounds, Sasha loses with scissors over three rocks and she pulls her hair in frustration.

“Sexy dance~” You take the initiative in giving punishment to the first loser.

“You’ll pay back later!” She threatens you as she gets up from her seat and moves her body to the beat playing in the background.

Historia stands on top of her chair and screams, “I’m the prettiest one!”

Mikasa goes to the table that’s closest to the entrance and takes a shot with one of them.

Sasha asks for the number of one of the waiters.

You and your friends are done with four rounds of punishment and you still haven’t lost. Sasha seems very displeased about this.

“This is the last one, guys, okay. I’m taking you home after this,” Mikasa reminds the three of you with a slur. She’s beginning to get tipsier every minute, but she’s still one with a sound mind, thankfully.

“Rock, paper, scissors!” You all shout for the last time and Sasha squeals.

“Whisper lyrics of a song to someone’s ear. Make sure they don’t know it’s a song and get very surprised!” Sasha tells you your punishment with a few shakes of her shoulders after pulling all of you together to keep the secret.

“Easy!” You slam the table while getting up and look around the few tables left. You jump from joy when you spot a familiar figure and stride to their spot.

Levi suddenly straightens his back when he sees you walking to their table. You give him a wave before you squat slightly towards him. His eyes follow your moves and shivers run down his spine with what you’ve done next. You cover your mouth and his ear with your hands as you scoot closer to him. This doesn’t evade his drunk friends’ teasing looks.

“Hey, pretty stranger, I think you look cute,” you tell him in a hushed voice. Levi instantly inhales and gulps when there’s nothing to gulp but his saliva. His friends continue to spectate while Eren bites his lower lip as he smiles and looks down the table then back to the scene in front of him. Erwin covers his mouth, trying to suppress his grin.

“Can I get your number? I wanna know you,” you have suddenly lost your balance and you hold his shoulder with one of your hands as a reflex. He doesn’t have time to react about what you’ve said when he holds your waist firmly, with his wrists that’s pressed to your sides, preventing his hand to touch your body as he turns his hands into fists. 

“Hehe, sorry~” You apologize giddily before continuing with your punishment. You bend back down to his ears and cover your mouth with only one hand this time while the other stays on his shoulder. “Tell me your secrets. Tell me your fears,” you then look straight into his eyes and blink while nodding your head as if trying to persuade him.

“Nobody will notice – let’s get outta here,” you end your little speech and get up on your feet. You smile at him with a shrug and make your way back to your table. Levi only gapes at you as your body sways while you walk to your table.

You bow to your friends like you have just ended a play when you reach your original place. Historia applauds you and even gives you a standing ovation while Sasha bows to you like how she will bow to a god. Mikasa can only shake her head in exhaustion.

“Levi!” Erwin snaps in front of Levi’s face listlessly while Eren shakes his shoulders to get his attention. Your smile takes the blow of him. He only clicks his tongue as if nothing happened seconds later. He’s probably not getting any sleep tonight.

“I’m calling Connie to drive us home,” Mikasa informs you when she realizes she can’t walk three drunk people all together even when your accommodation is a block away. Connie is a friend she’s made in her jiujitsu classes during P.E.

“Sasha, you’re going to your flat, okay,” she pats Sasha on the head so she can get her to focus. Sasha only nods at her words and goes back to lying with her arms on the table.

“Historia, you, too. I’m bringing you to your bed,” Mikasa does the same to Historia who’s hugging her empty glass of beer with her eyes closed. She only hums at Mikasa’s words.

“Me? Me? Me? Where are you bringing me?” You ask her excitedly like a third-grader on a school trip.

“You’re going home, too, sweetheart,” Mikasa pats the top of your head heavily as well while she puts her phone to her ear.

A minute has passed since she has started talking and she begins to raise her voice. “What? Just go here, okay. You’re getting us home first!” She puts her phone down on the table quite harshly when the call has ended. She has decided to just take you to your own places as she has to take care of her drunk self, too.

You are drifting off to sleep when a man with shaved hair goes to your table a few minutes later. You wave at him sluggishly and he waves back as she turns to Mikasa to talk.

“I told you, I’m driving my friends home, too,” Connie explains to a drunk but sane Mikasa who has her arms crossed. He points to the table where you’ve just gone to earlier. He has decided not to spend the night drinking with them as he has a deadline to conquer earlier - if that’s the right term.

Turns out, Levi has called him to get them home, too. With a knocked out Eren and a mumbling Erwin at hand, he can’t possibly make it to his flat uninjured. 

“Fine, then we go first,” Mikasa demands. Not long after, Levi walks to your table with his hands in his pockets. You turn your head to the smell of lemon and gasp when you see your lunch buddy.

“I suggest we take the ones who are sleeping first,” he suggests while trying to feign ignorance at your presence. “Eren should go with them,” he points to the two sleeping girls around the table. Your eyes are looking up at him and they’re almost twinkling, but he tries so hard to not pay attention.

Mikasa raises an eyebrow at the name but agrees with the idea. She nods at Connie in approval then tries her luck at waking Sasha and Historia up. To no avail, they only grunt at her shakes and pats. On the other hand, Levi walks back to their table and already has Eren supporting his weight on his shoulders when he goes near yours, “Passenger seat,” he tells Connie and makes his way to the car outside the place.

“I’m taking this taller one to the back seat, you take the smaller one,” Connie tells Mikasa as she puts Sasha’s arm around his shoulder while holding her up on her waist. Mikasa does the same to Historia and before leaving, “Stay here, okay?” She reminds you and you quickly nod at her while they go to the parking lot. Levi arrives seconds later and takes a seat beside you. _Erwin should be fine_. He looks at his friend on the other table who’s talking to an empty glass of beer.

Levi rests his chin on his palm while he looks at you in earnest. You are swaying your legs back and forth under the table and you kick his shin, but he does not react to this. “Sorry!” You apologize and hold his other hand that’s on the table. He flinches at this gesture and avoids your gaze when you caress his knuckles with your thumb. And you don’t stop. He turns to look at you again soon after.

Mikasa makes it back inside and looks down at your hands but decides to not take it to heart.

“I’m going with Connie to give him directions about their houses,” she informs you softly.

“Okay,” Levi replies with his eyes still on your features and your hand still on his.

“Not talking to you,” she scoffs as she goes closer to put her hand on your shoulder. “I’m going with Connie, dear. You should go with us, too. It will be suffocating for a bit, but you’ll be safe with me,” she tells you while you stare at her.

“I’m safe with Levi, too.”

“She’s safe with me.”

You and Levi say simultaneously and you giggle.

Mikasa only huffs when she learns the identity of the man and concludes that you probably won’t budge even if she forces you to go with her. She gets your phone from you and calls her own number. She then answers your call and puts your device inside your bag. She decides to leave you with Levi while she can hear everything from the call. To be more certain, she goes to the counter before going out and tells one of the staff to not let that guy bring you out of this place or do anything suspicious to you.

You, Levi, and Erwin are the only customers left. It’s closing time already and the sign on the door is already flipped over so people won’t come in anymore.

You’re getting bored of Levi’s knuckles, so you flip his hand and his palm is the one facing you. You start to write syllables on it.

“Levi,” you say his name out loud while you spell it out on his skin.

“Hmm?” Levi hums while still looking at you, hearts almost appearing in his eyes.

“Lemon,” you say what you’re writing out loud again and he responds by tucking a few strands of your hair behind your ear.

“Here, guess what I’m writing on your palm and no looking,” he suggests playing a game to prevent you from sleeping.

“And only whisper your answer to me without letting anyone hear it,” he concludes the rule of the game in a hushed voice through your ear.

“Okay!” You exclaim in anticipation as he takes your hand and begins to write on your palm as well. To not break the rule, you look at him while smiling which seems to catch him off guard as he takes a few seconds before writing the next syllable.

“That’s my name!” You bring your lips to his ear and answer in your smallest voice. You hold his finger in between your hand.

“Right. Next one,” it’s his turn to smile while looking down and wiggles his finger so you can let go of it. He only writes two characters and you knit your eyebrows while you think of the word. You look around the place to make sure no one is paying attention before bringing your face closer to his again.

“I like you?” You tilt your head while looking at him in confusion.

“I like you,” he whispers back to you in agreement and regains eye contact. You gasp loudly when you put two and two together.

“Smart girl,” he compliments you as he strokes your hair in adoration. You only giggle at this without thinking about what he has told you that much yet.

Connie and Mikasa arrive a minute later and all of you make your way home.

You have sat at the back with Mikasa and Levi. If not for Mikasa who roughly pulls you away from him, you will hold his hand throughout the night and may even go to sleep with him at his flat. Levi lets go of your hand with a last caress to the skin of your thumb and bids you a good night only you can hear. Just like the confession he has made that night.


	5. His Apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry it took me quite long to update (I have no excuse), so I just tried to make it up to you by adding longer moments of Levi with the reader. I hope you appreciate it!~  
> Also, if you want to learn about the ways you can help with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, here's the link: blacklivesmatters.carrd.co  
> Thank you!

You flicker your eyes open to the warm afternoon sun peeking through the windows. Your head feels heavy, you’re hungry, and you’re still wearing your clothes from last night. You groan as you crawl down the bed and lie on the floor. You can only wonder how much germs are on your beddings. You have to go out later and bring those to the laundry a street away from yours. Your cute little washing machine can’t take big fabrics.

You get up from the floor and sanitize your hands by the door of your closet. You’re lucky enough that you can deal with a hangover as bad as this. _Nothing beats the first day of my period_. You take your towel from the closet and go to your bathroom for a shower.

You sigh heavily after the bath. You then walk to the kitchen to get yourself some water to drink.

“He likes me,” you say to yourself while remembering what has happened last night. You feel very abashed and your ears are getting warm. And what’s with that little show you put on for Levi? You can only slap your cheek lightly as a scolding. Your _extreme_ clinginess makes it even worse. You pour yourself another glass and drink from it very harshly.

But it’s all too fast for you that it’s making you anxious. You have enough experience to conclude that it can’t happen that fast for it to be serious. You think it’s something physical. You think the two of you are just caught up in the moment. You think he takes an I like you differently. And if you are to decide, that means Levi does not like you at all.

You shake your head as you go through your clothes and choose a white tracksuit. You’re going for a jog at the park after bringing your beddings to the laundry.

You take an apple from your small fridge beside the washer and wash it on the sink. _But he’s such a gentleman_. You look back at how he has tried to avoid touching your waist. You brush off the thought that maybe you’ll like it more if he has touched you directly. You finish your apple and wash your hands. You dry it with the towel hanging by the cupboard. You proceed to remove whatever fabric of your bed is exposed to your outside clothes. You fold them inwardly and put it inside a big linen bag.

You are at the laundry service when you call your mom. You tell her how the week has gone for you while you decide on which detergent and conditioner you can use for your beddings. You choose your staple brand and ask for quick service. Your mom starts her nagging when she hears what you’ve told the girl by the counter. Quick laundry service is slightly more expensive than the normal one and it’s beddings you’re talking about.

“Sorry~ My friends and I drank last night and I was very wasted, mom,” you apologize to your mother cutely to try to calm her down. “You know it’s good to be clean, but you’re being too clean,” your mother sighs.

“I keep asking you to let me have a part-time job, but you never say yes,” you pout even if you know she can’t see it. You want to shoulder even just a bit of your expenses but she has always strongly opposed the idea of you working. You pay for the service and get your receipt - your laundry is supposed to be done two hours from now. You make your way to the park with your mom on the phone.

“And I keep telling you to focus on your studies. We’re not lacking financially, but you never take any extra allowance from me or your dad. You even chose a small apartment, and if we didn’t insist, you would probably choose one without air conditioning even,” she starts to bring back your decisions from the past. It’s true, though, you’re too frugal for their liking. There are only four of you in the family, with a younger brother who’s almost high school.

“I just want you to save the money, mom. We never know what may happen and we need to be ready for that. Besides, I’m living well enough with the money you’re giving me. I just want to make extra and save more,” you explain to her as if a broken record. That’s what you’ve always told them. You are just worried that if an emergency takes place in the future, you’re not financially ready. Your mom can only sigh at that and tell you that she loves you. You chuckle as you cross the street and tell her you that love her, too.

“I’ll see you next week,” you promise. You go home twice a month and once if you have many requirements. Your home is six hours away and they have tried to visit you so many times, but you don’t like the idea of your father driving for six hours. They’re getting older.

“Mhm, tell me if you need anything,” your mom ends the call. You have arrived at the park and it smells different. _Summer_ _is coming._ The sun has set and the temperature’s a bit lower. Right, you have only gone here during the warm lunchtime.

You start walking around and see that there are people in the resting areas. Some are running around the place or sitting by the big fountain at the center. Some are having conversations and some are eating. You are comforted by their presence and put your buds to your ear. You choose a summer playlist and your lips curl up when you start to hear it. You keep your phone in your pocket and start to jog on your feet. You hope that this year’s summer won’t be too hot, but who are you kidding? It’s summer for a reason.

You think you can just go with the flow. You anticipate that it’s not going to be that deep – whatever relationship you and Levi have. You can’t even decide if you like him, too, concluding that you have different definitions for like. And it’s just too fast. You shrug at your worried self and switch from a jog to a walk. You don’t notice a kid on your way and you’ll almost walk on him if he has not hit your foot with his toy car. You gasp and crouch down to see if you hurt him.

“Are you okay?” You ask him gently and look at him concerned. He only tilts his head to the side as he looks up to you. You sigh in relief and smile at him. “Does your car have a name?” You try to start a conversation with him.

His eyes widen and he shakes his head. You bite your lower lip. He’s probably told not to talk to strangers, but he wants to talk to you about his toy car. He is conflicted. _Cute._ You see two individuals a meter away watching you and you stand up to bow to them. They’re probably his parents. You show them an embarrassed smile and crouch down again to wave goodbye to the boy. He waves back with his car in his hand. You get up and begin to walk away. _I hope they don’t think I’m a kidnapper._

You are almost done with your last lap when you decide to give your friends a call. They can’t still be asleep. You take your phone from your pocket and fumble with the applications. You choose to have a video call with them and you don’t catch the people taking shelter from the rain.

Big drops of water fall on your screen and you look up. It’s heavy rain. You look for some roof but the resting areas are far from where you are. You then see the playground and make your way to the slide. You haven’t brought anything to clean the spot with.

“It’s fine, as long as you don’t get rained on,” you convince yourself as you sit on the roofed space above the slide. It’s dark, so you turn on the flashlight from your phone and then off. You don’t see any dirt anyway, but there are probably other organisms. You shut this thinking out while still trying to call your friends.

All of them answer and you giggle at Mikasa’s hair that’s going on all directions.

“Mikasa~ Sorry!” You apologize for all the hard work you’ve caused to her and Historia and Sasha do the same. She only grunts as a response and shows herself going to the bathroom to wash her face.

“Have you eaten?” Historia asks and you shake your head. Sasha’s the opposite as she focuses her camera on the plate in front of her. She’s eating when you’ve called. Mikasa probably hasn’t eaten yet.

“Where are you?!” All of them ask almost simultaneously when the surroundings they see from your video start to sync in. “Slide in the playground near the park near my flat,” you laugh. “I can actually go home now, but my beddings are in the laundry,” you explain to them.

“I’m picking you up with an umbrella!” Historia offers as she gets ready to go out. You gasp lightly, “I’m fine~” You tell her with a smile, and Mikasa just sighs at your situation and Sasha clicks her tongue.

Your phone then notifies you that it’s low on battery and you pout at this. “My phone is dying, guys. I’ll call you back if I don’t make it home by 8. Gotta save battery?” You say to them and blink. Before they can respond, you bid them goodbye and hang up. You keep your buds in their case and your phone in your pocket. You hug your knees to your chest as you hum a tune and see if the rain calms down. It’s only quarter to 7.

Levi grimaces when he sees that he has no scallions left in his fridge. He contemplates going on with cooking with a missing ingredient, but he’s too much of a perfectionist for that. And he’s too lazy to think of another dish to cook with what he has. He gets his keys and makes his way down to the parking.

The elevator makes a sound and he’s already in the basement. He gets his key and presses his car open. When he walks to his car, he sees a white figure on the playground opposite the street. He knits his eyebrows, “What’s that?” His curiosity gets the best of him as he opens his trunk to get an umbrella. He crosses the small street and sets foot on his residence’s playground.

You are humming to a new tune when a light flashes to your face. You jolt and turn to the culprit immediately.

“Levi?” You squint as you try to recognize the person below you. Jet black hair, center part, undercut, and gunmetal eyes with slight bags showing underneath. Add a cute nose, too. Levi has an umbrella and his eyes are wide in surprise.

He loves the way his name rolls on your tongue, but, “What are you doing?” He asks you with slim anger evident in his voice.

“Uh, waiting for the rain to stop?” You reply to him in hopes that it’s the answer he’s looking for.

“Get down,” he commands and goes to the opposite side of the slide.

“You want me to slide down and get my butt dirty and wet?” You ask for his confirmation when you see where he has gone.

“Tsk,” he clicks his tongue and walks to the steel ladder that leads to the top of the slide. _She said butt._ He feels warm all of a sudden.

You make your way down the ladder while he reaches with his umbrella to cover you from the rain.

You are on the ground with him under the same umbrella and you’re too close for your liking. You are looking up to him and blink. He just stares at you. The sound of the heavy rain hitting the transparent umbrella is the only thing you can hear. Your stomach decides to complain in hunger at just the right time.

“Sorry,” you bring your gaze down in embarrassment. He brings his lower lip in between his teeth.

“Let’s go,” he gets you closer to him while holding your wrist and you cross the street. You reach a parking lot and he opens the trunk of one of the cars to keep his umbrella. You tug at the end of his long sleeve with your other hand in question.

He glances at you for a second and hums as he pulls you to the passenger seat and opens the door for you.

“Where-”

“I was about to go to the supermarket to buy an ingredient for dinner when I saw you,” he tells you blankly before you can ask a question. You nod slowly. He walks to the other side of the vehicle and starts it as soon as he has taken a seat.

“Why are you not going in yet?” He asks when he notices you’re not beside him.

“I sat on somewhere dirty,” you explain to him in worry that you may soil his car.

“Your butt is not dirty,” he says as he puts the seatbelt on him.

“You just can’t see it,” you sigh as you get in the black car and take a seat. You close the door after you and you do the same with the seatbelt. _He was looking at my butt?_

The inside of his car is full leather. You don’t want to use the adjective, but you can’t think of anything to describe it more appropriately yet. It smells _manly._ Your ears almost turn red, but you distract yourself with other things like searching in your head what model his car may be. And he looks so good behind the wheel. The sight of him driving in reverse has almost made you gasp, so you just stare at the windshield.

“I went for a jog at the park while waiting for my laundry,” you tell him without knowing if he’s interested or not. You just want to divert your mind somewhere else. “I slept on my bed still wearing my clothes from last night, so I brought it there to be washed,” you just wish you’re making sense and he hums as you reach the main road.

The trip is short, very short. You are huffing when you are on your way to the entrance of the supermarket. You begin to shoot daggers to his back as he leads the way. He affects your mood so much.

Levi gets a basket and you follow him to the farm goods section. He then puts a wrapped scallion in the basket and looks at you.

“Do you have anything you want?” He asks and you don’t answer. You just avoid his gaze and cross your arms. “What’s the problem?” He brings his face close to yours to get you to look at him and you do so in shock. _Lemons._ You immediately back away.

“We should have walked if the grocery is this close,” you tell him in slight annoyance and walk to where the chocolates are. You have run out of sweets in your flat and now that you’re here, might as well restock them.

“It’s raining heavily,” he defends, never taking his eyes off of your features as your eyes light up at the sight of sugar in front of you.

“We have an umbrella,” you argue, a bit calmly now, and pick your favorites from the shelf. You hold the ones you’ve chosen to your chest as you look for some gummies.

“We’ll still get wet, and worse, sick,” he replies nonchalantly as he walks beside you and glances at what you’ve gotten.

“Fair, but I hope we can walk if it’s this close to where we were next time,” you end your argument and focus on bringing a pack of gummy bear to your chest. You don’t catch how you’ve told him you’re expecting a next time.

“Sure, but put those in this basket first,” he points to the sweets you’re holding close to your chest. You shrug and do what he says.

“I’m paying, Levi,” you insist for the second time when you’ve reached the cashier. What you’ve bought are already bagged by him. He has stopped your hand earlier when you try to swipe your card on the autonomous machine.

“Eat dinner with me as payment,” he offers casually as he takes advantage of your surprise to what he has said and uses his own card to pay. You gape at him when he gets the paper bag and walks to the exit. When he sees that you’re not following him, he pulls you by your hand and goes to where his car is parked. He unlocks it and opens the door for you again. You pout in defeat and he puts the paper bag in the back seat.

“Thank you, Levi,” you tell him softly when he’s starting to drive. You look down your hands and wait for his reply.

“Can I get your number?” He asks while he makes a turn.

“O-Okay,” you stutter. He’s surprising you too many times tonight.

“My phone’s in the cupholder. Password is 1225, my birthday,” he says and looks straight on the road. _His birthday’s on Christmas._

His phone has the default lockscreen and homescreen wallpaper which doesn’t surprise you. You type in your number while biting the inside of your mouth to keep yourself from grinning. _Shut it._

You look at him and wait for his next instructions. He feels your gaze on him. “Call it and show me your phone,” he says next.

You call your own number and your phone vibrates in your pocket. You bring it out with your other hand and you show it to him when you reach a stoplight on red. He nods. “You thought I’m giving you the wrong one?” You incite another argument jokingly.

“Better to be sure,” he smirks at you and you put your phone back to your pocket with a huff.

“Save it and type in your name,” he tells you when you’re on the verge of locking his phone. You do as you’re told and he begins to drive. You save yourself as _Cutie_ and bite your lip.

“Stay in the living room while I’m cooking. You can turn the TV on if you like,” he says as he gives you a pair of indoor slippers bigger than your size. You look around his apartment while he goes to the kitchen. There’s a powder room close to the door which you assume is for guests.

His apartment is a clean white with black accent walls for every part of the space. There’s a black accent wall behind where the TV is and another in the kitchen. The receiving area is just opposite the dining area with a wide space for walking in between. When you walk through the table and chairs, you’ll meet a marble island. Opposite it is the stovetop and the sink on the side. If you continue towards the end of the hallway between the receiving area and dining area, you’ll probably find his room.

There’s a floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and you like how you can see all the lights from up there. It looks blurry from the window because of the heavy rain, but you still adore it. Minutes later, you suddenly remember that you’ve promised to call your friends if you’re not home by 8. It’s only twenty minutes before the said time, but you should do it now that you remember. You look at Levi behind the stovetop being very focused on what he’s doing. You begin to smell the dish he’s preparing for dinner.

Levi hears you talking to someone over the phone telling that you’re having dinner with him. He walks a bit, so he can hear what you’re saying while he waits for the meat to cook.

“I told you, it’s not dangerous. And he’s a friend of your friend, come on~” You coo at Mikasa over the conference call while Sasha just tells her to leave you alone with your love life.

“Sasha! It’s not like that! It’s not like that, I guess,” you reiterate hesitantly and Sasha just laughs at your conflicted state. You look to your back to check on Levi and you see that he’s still behind the stovetop. You feel kind of guilty.

“I’m hanging up, okay. I’m safe and I’m going home after eating. I can just borrow an umbrella from him. Don’t worry, okay?” You tell them straightly, so Mikasa can’t complain, and Historia bids you an excited goodbye. You then end the call and walk to where Levi is.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” You put your hands on your side and look at him expectantly.

“Wash your hands here then take a seat. It’s almost done,” he says without paying you a glance. You just pout and make your way to the sink. You’re done washing your hands beside him and you gasp lightly when you remember what you’ve bought and stopped on your steps.

You take a bar of chocolate from the island and Levi hears you shuffling behind him.

“You’re eating that before dinner?” He questions your choice of appetizer when he turns to look at you.

“Of course. I haven’t had anything the whole day besides an apple,” you answer him matter-of-factly. He just sighs heavily knowing how you’ve skipped breakfast and lunch. You walk to the table with a bar in hand and open it immediately.

Levi opens his fridge and brings out a pitcher of water. He gets two glasses from one of the drawers and brings them to your table. He leaves then comes back with a pitcher and pours you a glass. You mumble a thank you after you’ve swallowed the sugar in your mouth.

The stir-fried pork with scallion is done in a few minutes. The aroma of ginger, garlic, and scallion together makes you gulp. Levi gets the two of you a bowl of rice and utensils after he has set the main dish on the table. He then gets side dishes from the fridge and puts a serving of each on side plates.

“Thank you for the food,” you mumble while picking up your chopsticks and wait for him to start eating.

He stares at you as you put the first bite of his cooking into your mouth. You nod quickly and look up at him as soon as the taste reaches your senses. He lifts his eyebrows at you and continues eating. He smiles when he sees that you’re not looking at him anymore.

The dinner is uneventful as both of you have concentrated on eating. You bring the opened pack of chocolate in front of him with a smile. “Dessert?” He accepts your offer and breaks a part of the bar. He brings the sweets to his mouth and chews it while nodding. He has not tasted this brand of chocolate before, but he’s sure to get you way better ones next time. 


	6. Your Worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shamelessly taps mic after not updating for three months* It's a short chapter, but the next one will be put up this week, I promise! Thank you very much for reading up to this part!!!! <3 I hope you leave me anything in the comments, I really appreciate it.

“I’ll do the dishes,” you offer as you stand from your chair and put what’s left of the chocolate on the dining table after folding the wrapper back up.

“It’s fine,” Levi stops you just as you are picking up your used plates.

“Please?” You tilt your head and blink at him a few times. He lets out a breath and the side of your lips curl up knowing that you win.

He coughs and you bring the cutlery and china to the sink. You start doing the dishes after wearing the rubber gloves hanged above the racks. Levi just stares at your back the whole time. He clenches his fists – he wants to hug you from the back. To stop himself from doing something uninvited, he heads to the living room and turns the television on and mindlessly presses the remote from channel to channel. He exhales heavily, _that was close._

You are done with the chore and have put the gloves back to its place. You then notice the knife and chopping board that Levi used earlier on the tiled space a few feet from the sink. It seems tidy, but you’ve volunteered to do the dishes, and you better not do a sloppy job. You pick the knife and check if it’s rough or sticky to the touch. You bring it a bit close to your nose to see if it smells while still feeling its edge when you press on it quite harder than you’ve meant to. You hiss and drop the tool on the counter.

Levi hears something fall from the kitchen and he immediately stands up from the couch to check on you. He sees you squinting at your finger as he closes the distance between the two of you. He pulls your hand and leads you to the sink. His eyebrows are knitted as he glares at your hand that’s under the faucet running with water.

“Sorry, but-”

“What are you doing? That’s clean!” He exclaims as he throws you a scolding look without letting you finish your sentence. You gawk at him.

“I was just checking if it is clean. I don’t want to leave anything dirty when I actually offered to clean it,” you reply a few seconds later with your eyebrows meeting as well. _He’s getting so worked up over something so little._

“I didn’t ask you to do it, and here you are, wounding yourself over some kitchen knife,” he continues to scold you and you close the faucet roughly with your other hand.

“It’s not even bleeding,” you show your wet hand to his face and he looks at it in scrutiny. “I was looking at it earlier to see if there’s a cut, and there’s none,” you add as you breathe quite heavily to prevent yourself from getting worked up, too.

“Tch,” he rolls his eyes and leans toward you bringing one of his arms to your back. You stand up straight and look away.

You feel something touching your wet hand you see that it’s a sheet of kitchen towel. He has gotten one from the dispenser behind you. He dries your hand gently and his face is back to its usual emotionless state. Thanks to the tracksuit covering your whole body, he can’t see the goosebumps starting to form on your arms. _Why does he look at my hand like that?_ You’re not some fragile glass, you thought to yourself.

“I’m taking you home before the rain gets heavier,” he tells you after that little banter as he heads to the doorway after throwing the wet material to the bin.

“I can manage, just let me borrow your umbrella. My place is close here,” you oppose his idea while following him to the door. You see him already has his shoes on and wearing a plain white windbreaker with the brand’s logo on the left that he has gotten from the coat rack.

You wear your shoes, too, without forgetting to swear at him in your mind for looking good in just about anything. Maybe he’ll look good in nothing, too. Your blood rushed to your face at the thought, _oh my God, am I becoming a pervert?_ You mentally apologized to whatever deity who knows about your impure thoughts.

“Don’t argue. I _am_ taking you home,” you are distracted by the finality in his voice. He’s so bossy—too bossy, but why do you like it?

The elevator ride is silent. You are just looking down the floor the whole time, but you can feel his piercing gaze from your left. You take slow breaths to calm yourself, _he doesn’t need to look at me that intensely._ The fact that someone like Levi is interested in you is something that you can’t easily get over with.

You reach the sixth floor and you look up from the noise when the elevator opens to let about seven people ride. You are on the verge of walking backward to give them more space when Levi brings you close to him by putting an arm around your shoulders. The two of you move to the back with you freezing in his touch.

“I’m sorry. They’re all men, so let’s stay like this until they get off,” he whispers to your ear and you can almost feel his lips on your skin. His courteous hand stays on your shoulder, without it touching any part of you as it’s in a fist again.

You inhale sharply, and you’re certain that he will notice that. You want to reply, but you know that you’ll just stutter if you try. He misunderstands your reaction and mutters a soft sorry before trying to put his arm down, so you hold the bottom of his windbreaker immediately. You look straight at the back of the person in front of you while you still have the small fabric of his clothing in your hand.

It’s Levi’s turn to freeze up and you reach the parking lot without any fuss. You let go of his windbreaker as quick as light and he gently detaches his arm from your frame. The two of you get off the elevator with the others. You can finally breathe.

Both of you walk to his car with him in the lead and he presses his key to unlock it. He opens the door for you again without saying anything and you utter another small thank you.

“Address?” He asks as soon as he gets in and puts on his seatbelt. You do the same and stare at the windshield that’s stained with water spots.

“I have to go to the laundromat first,” you reply, still having your gaze on what’s in front of you.

“Ah, right. Where is that, then?” You don’t catch him acting like he’s walking on unknown territory and the nerves of being alien to it are filling his system that he forgets about a lot of things.

You tell him your street and he starts the car. You shut your eyes for a second after realizing that letting him know about getting your beddings first isn’t going to make any difference since your place is in the same street as the laundromat. Are your nerves getting to you, too? You’re not foreign to this feeling, or are you? You’ve had relationships before, but you cut them off before anything gets too serious. Extreme romance is just not your cup of tea.

You distract yourself by watching the rain fall on the glass while waiting for the wiper to clean it up. The soft sound of the rain hitting the roof makes you feel light but the thought about how much carbon footprint you’ve left today makes you exhale heavily. Levi is even taking the longer way, too, driving on the highway instead of the inner road to reach your destination.

“Are you okay?” Levi turns to look at you briefly and sets his eyes back on the road again.

You’re preoccupied with the speculation that he’s not into playing music while driving as you jot this new knowledge about him down mentally.

He tries to get your attention for the second time by calling your name and you face him pointedly with your eyes wide in surprise. “I asked if you’re okay,” he tells you while still focusing on the highway as if he can feel your shock from the driver’s seat.

“Yes?” You tilt your head slightly in bewilderment at his sudden question. Seconds have passed and he still stays silent after your reply.

“It’s just that I really feel guilty about riding a car instead of walking when the places we’re going to are close,” you add in hopes of getting a reply from him, shoulders down at how he can still look good even from the side. You wonder if his jaw can cut papers, at its sharpness, it’s not impossible.

“You’re very concerned about the environment, I noticed, but it’s raining hard and an umbrella can’t save you from this,” he tells you straightly while turning to the street. You stare at his hand on the steering wheel.

You sigh, “Alright, but why do we have to take the longer way to my street?”

“I want to spend more time with you,” he replies in a quick manner, and before you can react, “Tell me if I need to stop.”

“Huh?” You look at his face being very confused by his request and _very_ surprised at how forward he is with how he feels about you.

“Eyes on the road, darling. We don’t want to miss the laundromat now, do we?” You can hear teasing in his voice and you see the smirk creeping up on his lips.

“Right! It’s just…,” you look around you to check how far you are and shrug off the evident embarrassment you’re feeling—judging from the blush on your cheeks, “…a few meters away from here. Drive slowly?”

“You’re the boss,” he responds and lightens his step on the gas. _Am I, really?_

You reach the laundromat and Levi parks in front of the place. You are planning to step out of the car when you hear Levi unbuckling his seatbelt, “I’ll get it. Give me your stub.”

“You don’t—”

“Hush. Hand it over,” he cuts your opposition firmly. _I’m not the boss._

You pout and get the paper from the back of your phone case. You give it to him while still pouting and your hand with the stub hangs in the air. You look up at him and see that his gaze is on your face, on your lips if you’ll like to be specific. He then brings his gaze upwards to your eyes to witness your apparent blinking at his strange action. He coughs and hastily gets the stub from your hand and leaves the vehicle after pulling his hoodie up to his head. He makes his way to the trunk, gets the umbrella, and enters the establishment.

Not a minute has passed and Levi opens the door to the back seat. He puts your linen bag down on one of the seats and keeps the umbrella back in the trunk.

Minutes later, you’re in front of your flat. The two of you are silent for a few seconds before you speak simultaneously.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll bring your beddings.”

He leaves no room for argument _again_ as he leaves the car first and you watch him walk around the front of his vehicle—he opens the door for you _again._ He gets the large bag from the back and watches you step out.

There’s no elevator as the building’s only up to five storeys. Your place is on the third floor, so he really doesn’t need to help you, but you know that he will insist. The way to your place is silent.

You’re almost at the door when you stop in your tracks, “I forgot my sweets!” You exclaim all of a sudden and turn to Levi who’s behind you.

He blinks, “I’ll go back after this and bring it to you.”

“Uh, give it to me when we meet again?” You offer as you walk closer to him and get your linen bag from his hand. You assume that he’s preoccupied with your offer when his hold on the strap is light and you have gotten it from him with ease.

“And when is that?” He asks you now, eyeing your face.

“I don’t know, whenever we have the time?” You reply without any thought as you take steps to your door.

“I have time ton—tomorrow,” You press your lips in a straight line and you see him shake his head when you look back and you don’t know why. You cover your keyless door lock with your body and press your passcode.

“I don’t,” you say in a quick reply and face him after unlocking your door. Before he’s able to respond, “ThankyoufortonightLeviyoucooksowelltakecareonyourwayhome,” you rap and enter your flat.

You lean on the door after you hear the sound signaling that it’s locked. You exhale slowly, _everything’s going too fast that it’s almost untrue._ Or is it? Almost a minute has passed, your phone vibrates in your pocket and it makes you jump. You don’t bother to look at the caller and put your phone to your ear. You then breathe a hello.

“Is there something wrong?” You tear your back off from the door and stand up straightly at the voice. You make out worry? Confusion? Fear? Whatever it is, it’s audible in Levi’s tone.

“N-No,” you shut your eyes.

“So there is. Can you tell me?” He softly asks and you don’t reply.

“Hmm, Cutie? Seems like a very fitting name to me,” he immediately changes the subject with a tone you’re becoming familiar with—teasing and amusement. You hear his car unlock. You relax at how he seems to understand that you can’t tell him about your problem now only for you to tense back up at his awareness of that little thing you’ve done earlier. You are starting to regret your brazenness. And is he indirectly saying that you’re cute?

“Y-Yeah, I wouldn’t name myself like that if it’s not,” you disguise your embarrassment as confidence and gulp.

He laughs. The perfect face, perfect hair, perfect scent, perfect _being_ who has flattered you way too many times tonight, who’s giving you a hard time, who will probably never leave your mind no matter how hard you try, who has called you darling! _laughs_. You shiver at how close his laugh hits your eardrum, at how good it feels that you’re the one behind it.

The sound of the engine starting reaches your ear and that’s when Levi decides to give you a harder time. He fondly sighs, “I really like you," he says with the smile in his tone resonating all over you.

You’re not going to deny it. You’re falling hard and you’re falling fast, dangerously. For this... this person… this impossibility of a man… this lunch buddy, you are.

And that’s when you decide that God dislikes you.


	7. At a Restaurant

It’s Sunday. The way the lead touches the paper, the fresh out of shower feeling, the early morning sun that’s just the right warmth, and the aloe white tea on your cup make you hum in appreciation as you think of the next word that will complete the last sentence in your essay. Yeah, everything is fine.

Everything is fine if not for the workload that you’ve forgotten, or at least tried to, on that Friday night you’ve spent with your friends, if not for the sound of construction from an establishment close by, if not for a certain someone who’s too determined to stay in your mind. _Mhm, everything. Fine._

You start typing away on your laptop when you’ve written the final period on the paper.

_“I really like you.”_

_I really like how Kidd refuted Hawking’s argument about…_ the statement in your essay says.

 _I really like you,_ you type.

“Levi!” Your head lightly touches your window as you vent out your frustration. Then, it hit you—you don’t know what his surname is. That or you’re just looking for reasons to send him a message. You accomplish your paper without batting an eye on your phone.

Lunch has come and you make yourself some good, old katsu don. The things that are on the lineup of your to-do can’t even stop you from enjoying the dish that reminds you of home. You put your utensils and your bowl to the sink and clean it up immediately.

The pad of your thumb fumbles with your phone as you press number one for speed dial.

“Hello, my pretty mom,” you try to flatter your mother.

“What do you want from me?” She replies and you wheeze. Of course, you want something from her.

“I’m going to look for a job,” you declare as you look at your nails.

“I told you—”

“Mom, please? Please, please, please?” You cut her off. “I promise it won’t meddle with my studies, I will still get enough time to rest, and I will still take care of myself as well as I do now.”

“I don’t think you’ll listen to anything I say about that, anyway. Fine, do what you want, but keep those promises of yours,” she tries her hand at sounding mad, but you know her enough to sense that it’s concern in her voice.

“Of course!”

You are on your happy toes as you look for part-time jobs in the web. To be extremely honest, you’ve been planning to pay at least half of your tuition for the next semester. Your university’s tuition isn’t exactly affordable. Scratch that, it’s very expensive, so it will be a very big help to your parents if you can contribute a bit.

Your joy bubble is popped immediately when you notice that there’s no posting for part-time jobs in your area, probably because most of them are taken by students from your university or from universities close by. A heavy sigh leaves your lips as you keep refreshing the page of job postings near you.

After a minute of assault towards the F5 button, a newly uploaded job comes up. You scan the details about it quickly while holding your breath. It’s the high-end seeming furniture store you always pass by when you go the center of the city with your friends. They’re looking for a sales assistant and your resume, that you’ve always prepared, gets sent to them in a second. Your lower lip gets stuck in your teeth—you’re really doing this.

Your jaw drops in the next second when you notice how much they’re paying. You don’t know how much part-time jobs usually pay, but you know that the one on your screen is high.

The rest of your day goes by in a flash. You’re constantly checking your e-mail and your phone all throughout, hoping that they’ll get back to you. The euphoria that your little job hunting has brought helps you finish the majority of your school works and you only have one left to accomplish. You give yourself the chance to cram on it as it’s only a short one and is about a lesson you don’t have a difficult time with.

You’re highlighting a sentence from one of your subject’s reading material on your laptop Monday. The activity you have chosen to keep yesterday bothers you, so you’ve answered it during breakfast. No one from the furniture store’s contacting you yet and the day’s afternoon says hi. You’re probably the only person ever to apply for _one_ job and wish that you’ll be hired.

You stretch your arms above your head and give your own head a pat for going through two meetings’ worth of reading materials. Yes, Monday blues are not a thing for you as your university doesn’t hold classes on the said day.

A pair of baby blue tracksuit gets pulled from your closet as you think of giving yourself a breather from academics by going for a jog.

The oh so familiar scent of the park makes the edge of your lips curl up. This park has become your happy place. You will never not miss the music that the trees create when a slightly strong breeze hits them. There are a few people on certain resting areas and some are having a little photoshoot with the fountains at the center. Your smile grows wider.

It’s definitely the first day of June. With the afternoon sun stronger than before, summer is just around the corner.

You reach the playground on the opposite side and you freeze on your feet. The person you’ve been attempting to keep at the deepest parts of your brain goes back to being its focus again. Levi hasn’t called nor texted you since that night.

“I really like you,” the smile that’s lacing his tone shakes your very being. Without any idea how to reply, “Uh, t-take care,” you force yourself to sound as carefree as possible. You fail, obviously.

“Mhm, I’ll be driving now,” you bite the insides of your mouth at how breathy his voice sounds—he’s trying no to laugh. He has probably caught your faltering take care earlier. The round and red button on the screen is pressed before he acquires the opportunity to tease you.

 _Was it me ending the call without warning? Did anything happen to him? Is he mad at me? Is he sick?_ You share your head in hopes of shaking those thoughts off, as well.

You are on your third lap of the park when your phone vibrates in your sweater’s pocket. The number is not registered and you tilt your head in wonder of its owner. You answer the call, nonetheless.

Your flat witnesses a heaving you and you literally scream internally after holding it for some minutes. The employer of the furniture store has called and he has said that you have an interview Tuesday. He has even asked when you’ll be free tomorrow as he knows you’re still a student. You’ve told him you have no classes four o’clock onwards.

The tracksuit you’ve worn goes straight to your washing machine and you take a quick shower. You sleep with a goofy smile half an hour after dinner.

The cab ride to the store is taking longer than you’ve expected. _City traffic,_ you sigh. While your eyebrows meet in annoyance at the congestion, you check your estimated time of arrival on your phone. The twenty-minute drive has turned in to forty-five minute one.

You jolt at the sudden appearance of a person’s name on your phone, so you drop it on the vehicle’s floor. Your device keeps vibrating on the floor as you contemplate how you should get it because the area has been walked on by different people’s shoes.

You take a deep inhale as you pick the phone up and answer the call. You put Levi on speaker.

He calls your name and you gulp, “Yes?”

“How are you?” He asks straightly.

“I’m okay? You?” It hasn’t even been that long, but who are you kidding? You’ve missed him.

“Fine. Where are you?” He responds in a second. You are spacing out after hearing how he sounds after a dreadful three days.

“Hey, are you there?” He snaps you out of your trance, “Y-Yes! I’m on my way to a job interview.”

“Can you tell me—” He pauses. Few seconds pass, “I’m sorry, I’m getting another call. Text me where you’re going, please? I’ll bring you home after the interview,” he sighs.

“You don’t ne—” You hear the busy tone as Levi ends the call before you can even reply. He seems very busy. _And tired._ You gaze outside in worry. You nod to nothing and get the handy alcohol from your bag with the hand that’s not holding your phone. You send the location of the furniture store to Levi soon after.

The interview goes by lightly. Your boss is very accommodating and he has asked for your class schedule. Good thing, you have a printed copy because you’ve expected you need it. After asking questions that gauge your communication and description skills, he pulls out a folder from one of his drawers and opens it for you.

“Read it first, then sign if you agree to all that’s written. Don’t worry, you can let me know if there’s something you don’t agree with,” he tells you in a professional tone as you blink at him.

“I’m not sure I follow, sir,” you say to him slowly, not quite taking in the situation.

“You’re hired,” he finally speaks with a smile. Your eyebrows meet for the second time today.

He notices your disbelief and laughs. He then explains that they’ve been needing a lot of employees as their store has just branched out. Some of them have moved to the new location because it’s getting more customers than they’ve expected. He confirms that you’re not the only one who has applied and there are four people he has hired today. 

You’re out of the room where you’ve just done your interview and you feel something on the side of your leg. You reach for your bag and take out your phone.

Levi is calling you again and you put the device on your ear with a smile.

“Levi, hello,” you bite your lower lip as you itch to tell him that you’ve gotten the job.

“I’m here already. Dining sets section?” He informs you in a confused tone.

“Okay! I’m at the far end, beds.”

There’s a pause and he exhales fondly, “Let’s meet halfway.”

You are walking beside him in joyful steps as you make your way to the doors. “How did it go?” He looks at you as he pockets his phone. He’s wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of jeans today and he still manages to look good. The analog steel watch on his wrist completes the outfit.

You smile, “I’m starting on Thursday. I was supposed to start tomorrow because it’s been really hectic here with a lesser number of employees, but I have a consultation with a professor tomorrow about a group project.”

“I see,” is all he says. You make it to his car and he opens the door to the passenger seat. He waits for you to get in and walks to the driver’s seat after closing the door for you.

You buckle up with your lower lip in between your teeth to stop yourself from smiling. Ah, your cheeks hurt, you’re really happy that you’ve gotten the job.

Levi gets your attention by calling your name and you turn to him with eyebrows raised.

“Have dinner with me?” He leans to your direction a bit and tucks the stray strands of your hair behind your ear.

You immediately look away as soon as he’s done, “A-Alright.”

_Making me blush right off the bat? You’re unfair, Levi._

He hands his car key to the valet after the both of you have stepped out of the car.

“I’m not sure I’m dressed for this,” you tell him skeptically as the door opens to a five-star hotel.

He chuckles, “No, silly, I _am_ the one who’s not dressed for this.”

You become silent at the new pet name and you enter the elevator without a word.

“Levi Ackerman,” he speaks to the receptionist by the entrance when you have arrived. _Mikasa?!_ You gasp softly. You’ll ask Mikasa about it later.

“This way, sir.”

The restaurant is on the twentieth floor and it’s fancier than you’ve thought. Waterfall and empire chandeliers are lined up on the ceiling. There are round tables covered in silk with a uniform embroidered pattern at the center and parsons chairs are on opposite sides of them. A sweet melody from a classical band is playing in the background.

Your wide-leg jeans, white ribbed knit top, and a pair of block heels are _definitely_ out of place.

“Don’t think about it,” Levi, who’s walking on your left, says all of a sudden. You peer at him in question.

“You’re pretty,” he states as a matter-of-factly as he looks straight into your eyes.

Levi has to pull your hand when you have, quite literally, frozen on your feet. You catch sight of him biting his lower lip, but his smile still manages to show.

He pulls the chair for you when you’ve reached your table. You mutter a small thank you, cheeks still warm from his compliment earlier and a _lot_ warmer now from his chivalry.

Your reserved table is beside the window that’s overlooking the highway. If you look ahead, you’ll see skyscrapers from the distance and industrial buildings close by. You wonder quietly what could have happened if you haven’t taken his invitation.

A waiter hands you the menu when both of you have taken your seat. You skim through it and realize that they offer dishes from different cuisines. And of course, it just has to be something completely out of your budget this week.

“I’m going for pasta,” Levi lets you know after putting his menu down the table.

You sigh in silence, _I guess it’s not too bad to treat myself once in a while._ You decide to use your savings for today.

“Alle vongole for me,” you tell him after a minute of thinking and end up going for pasta, as well.

He calls for a waiter and proceeds to tell your order.

“Two alle vongole and…,” he says in a perfect accent.

“Wine?” Levi glances at you to ask and you just nod at him. _I’m not treating myself again this semester._

“Chardonnay,” he says in a perfect accent _again._

The waiter walks away after informing you that the wait takes fifteen minutes.

“Are you cold?” He turns to you as he crosses his arms.

“I’m not,” you lie. You just don’t know what he’ll do if you let him know that this place’s temperature is too low when he doesn’t have something that provides warmth with him—not that you’re expecting him to do anything.

He hums, “I’ve been busy.”

 _With what?_ You want him to elaborate about his whereabouts, but you just bob your head slowly while playing with the strap of your bag on your lap. It’s not his obligation to let you know, anyway.

“I went to my parents’ house last Sunday and dealt with important stuff,” he adds, his gaze still on you.

You show him a small smile as if to express your understanding.

“Wh—”

“I did a—”

You cut each other out. Your eyes land on his and the both of you let out a snort.

“What were you saying?” Levi throws a question after a few seconds.

“What about you?” You throw another question back.

“No, you,” he says with an eyebrow raised but the smile still not leaving his lips.

“No, _you,_ ” you urge him with an eyebrow that’s raised, too.

He smirks, “I’ll never win with you.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. I wanted to ask what you kept yourself busy with,” he states and moves his face close to you over the table as if in scrutiny.

You hold your ground.

“Oh, I just did my homework and went through my readings,” you answer him without dilly-dallying even if your heart is beating too quick for your liking.

“You’re not gonna ask me what I did?” Levi says in a challenging tone.

“Huh? You already me that you—”

“I kept thinking about you,” he makes you aware again of his feelings for you.

It’s too fast? Who cares?

“I missed you. So much.” His stare is almost piercing and you feel his longing with how the look he’s giving you don’t falter even a little.

Your knuckles turn into white on your lap.

“I missed you, too, Levi.”

He inhales sharply and his eyes go wide. He abruptly gets up from his chair and walks to the opposite side of the table, to you.

You are puzzled and your eyes follow his movements.

“I missed you more, you silly girl,” he declares before bringing your body towards him by wrapping your shoulders in his arms.

He’s hugging you. Tightly. So this is how he’s going to give you warmth, you realize.

No, you’re not going to avoid this anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT HAVE I DONE
> 
> But yeah, here's the update I promised, though it's technically not the same week as the last one because it's Sunday already djddjdjd
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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